France, Bordeaux

In 2006 M. Filliatreau, the owner of Château Beaumont was desperate to get a slightly better price for this wine from the old vine Semillon-Sauvignon produced from a 2 ha plot attached to a property that mainly makes red. He hit on the idea of barrel-fermenting it in the new barrels destined for the red wine. Since it is picked early (in August) it completed its fermentation in wood and was back in tank by the time of the 'décuvage' of the red. Because the barrels were needed for the red, their cost has not been factored in to the price of this fantastic bright and surprisngly complex white, which is amazing value for a barrel-fermented wine.